Essendon looks certain to be dumped from the finals as negotiations with the AFL moving swiftly towards a resolution of the drug crisis.

Essendon, desperate to cling to draft picks, has adopted a ''clean slate'' approach under which it would accept a punishment that does not impact greatly on its future.

But the AFL is adamant that draft picks must be part of any punishment for the sake of the game's integrity. It is still seeking to remove this year's first and second-round picks, and the same in 2014.

A suspension for James Hird is still on the table. Photo: Pat Scala

A suspension for coach James Hird was also assured, with the AFL wanting a 12-month penalty. Essendon's stance on the coach - a sticking point earlier in the week when Essendon rejected a settlement offer - was secondary to the issue of preserving draft picks and ensuring the club was not severely impaired next year and beyond.

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Late on Friday, Essendon chairman Paul Little said the Bombers wanted to bring matters to a conclusion quickly.

''The ongoing controversy is harmful to our players and their families, our officials, the club, other AFL clubs and the AFL itself,'' he said in a statement.

A Bombers fan show her support for the embattled coach. Photo: Getty Images

He apologised for the club's mistakes. ''We have made mistakes in terms of governance and people management, and we apologise for them. We also accept there will be AFL sanctions as a consequence … but the evidence does not extend to drug cheating, and we're working to ensure that the charges and ultimate penalties reflect this.''

While talks remained delicately poised late on Friday, Hird's position appeared increasingly difficult, with Little prepared to prioritise the club over the coach. Hird had been determined not to serve a suspension longer than six months.

Assistant coach Mark Thompson is set to escape suspension and receive only a fine, but football operations manager Danny Corcoran is also likely to be suspended. The position of the other individual facing charges, Dr Bruce Reid, was unclear.

Essendon coach James Hird at training on Friday. Photo: Pat Scala

Hird was expected to coach against Carlton, but with the AFL Commission due to hear the Essendon case early next week, his future beyond that was unclear.

But, as Fairfax Media reported earlier this week, the club has given ground considerably on the issue of premiership points - agreeing to sacrifice those - meaning there is little chance the club will play finals in a fortnight, opening the way for Carlton and possibly even North Melbourne.

Little and AFL executive Gillon McLachlan were in lengthy talks - an indication of the pragmatic line of both parties despite the conflict and legal threats and legal action taken by Hird against the AFL and of the backing the AFL regime received from the 17 other clubs that are tired of the damaging saga.

The club had been offered a fine of more than $2.5 million in talks on Tuesday, but the extent of the fine was among the details still being hammered out.

Club presidents who met on Thursday said clubs needed to know Essendon's fate by next week to ensure that the team in ninth place was prepared for the finals.

The negotiated potential penalties against Essendon, as reported exclusively by Fairfax Media on Wednesday night, would be unprecedented. No team in the AFL has been stripped of premiership points.

Little, who did not attend Thursday's meeting at AFL headquarters but took part via a phone hook-up, was made aware of the damage being inflicted on the game and on all clubs.

Several clubs remained hopeful that a settlement would be reached as soon as Friday but more likely by early next week with the commission still preparing to meet Essendon on Monday and reach a conclusion.

The prevailing view of rival clubs was that Essendon, despite the unprecedented nature of the AFL punishment, would be escaping relatively lightly.

The clubs also unofficially canvassed the prospect of league chief and commissioner Andrew Demetriou removing himself from Monday's hearing in the interests of settling the crisis.

270 comments

So much for James Hird and his much vaunted legal challenge.And well done to Caroline Wilson for some great reporting on the whole affair.Ms Wilson's accounts of this whole tawdry and seld-destructive affair have been vindicated.Essendon should never have dumped Kevin Sheedy in the shabby manner the club did.Its cynical pursuit of short term success has been shown for what it is and was.If ever there was a club that well and truly lost the plot its Essendon.

Commenter

Jimmy of Shelley

Date and time

August 23, 2013, 6:21PM

You're kidding. Sheeds is a legend at the club who delivered four premierships and his legacy is safe there forever. He was coach for 27 years. Yes 27 years. Which other coach last more than ten? It's hardly fair to suggest that he was hard done by the club. As for Caroline 'Pitbull' Wilson, she is a good journalist but of late has turned into a purveyor of fear and innuendo. She won't rest until Hird is gone and the club humiliated and this should NEVER be forgotten by the Essendon Football Club and its members and supporters.

Commenter

Brendan

Location

Forest Hill

Date and time

August 23, 2013, 6:54PM

Is that you Caro????

Commenter

Andy

Date and time

August 23, 2013, 7:16PM

Systematic drug abuse over a long period of time. Absolute confirmation only denied by lack of records and an effective omertà. What would the punishments be in other major codes?. What about the sport we love to mock - soccer. Juventus and Rangers as big and famous as any AFL club were relegated to lower divisions as well as massive financial penalties. How will we compare? Any so called punishment this year is just so called - the seasons finished for Essendon anyway. A couple of draft picks and a suspension for Hird. Scary.

Commenter

Andy

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

August 23, 2013, 7:30PM

Well said JimmyI'm wondering where are all the apologies from the spiteful fans who kept saying CW was wrong? Too busy wiping egg of their faces I guess. The only Essendon coach who has come out of this looking good is Matty Knights.Now that's Natural Justice at work!

Commenter

Realist

Date and time

August 23, 2013, 7:43PM

Agreed! Caroline Wilson has been fantastic.

Commenter

Jamboree

Date and time

August 23, 2013, 8:04PM

Caroline Wilson has retained an unemotional reporting approach. Her only passion when expressed seems to be truth and the welfare of the players. It has been astonishing to see no one at the club speak up for them until recently. Anyone who has ever functioned in a group bound by a bond like footy knows that there will be ones who want to stand apart but are afraid - it would be good to see the leadership group stand up and lead. Why are the signs at the grounds all in support of Hird? This is an unhealthy approach. Look at this workplace and ask- was it safe? Can it be safe until those who have responsibility for it acknowledge that there need to be massive changes. A culture that revolves around one man is fraught with danger - as Essendon exemplifies. Well done Caroline for your tenacity and persistence. I suspect some of these men are not used to having to account for themselves using something more than platitudes.

Commenter

It's our game

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

August 23, 2013, 8:14PM

Carloine Wilson has been brilliant and courageous in all of this. Her sources are good but her holding the strain of pressure for the greater good is the most impressive part. Truly inspirational work Caro.

Commenter

Fuschia

Location

Edenhope

Date and time

August 23, 2013, 8:17PM

+1 Jimmy. Well said.

Commenter

Me too

Date and time

August 23, 2013, 10:43PM

So it's heading towards Essendon pleading guilty to incompetence and negligence, and avoiding the more serious charges of systematic doping and (even more seriously) deliberately covering it up. The other clubs are right. They will be getting off very lightly indeed. It will be the club's reward for closing ranks tighter than a mafia family.

But the ASADA investigation is on going and they have not yet used their new powers to compel Steven Dank to be interviewed. I wonder what will happen if ASADA uncover new evidence? Does the AFL get to review its' decision on penalties?

23 Aug
Paul Little: At yesterday's meeting of AFL Club Chairmen and Presidents, I stressed we wanted matters resolved … but also that matters need to be concluded in a fair manner with charges and penalties that reflect the club's actual failings and the evidence.

23 Aug
Essendon coach James Hird said it had been "very concerning" to listen to an emotional radio interview with an anonymous mother of one of his players where she relayed her fears about the impact the club's supplement scandal was having on her son and family.

23 Aug
AFL Players Association chief Matt Finnis says Essendon players would require long-term monitoring of their health after growing uncertainty about the impact the Bombers' controversial supplement injection program may have on their lives.

23 Aug
Essendon's supplements crisis has gripped Melbourne and set some of the city's highest-profile individuals on a collision course, but the men at the heart of the battle have more than football in common - they also have geography.

24 Aug
West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett says the Eagles would have already asked their coach to step aside had the club faced the same predicament currently plaguing Essendon and their coach James Hird.